Signs of Trouble
by Cybernetic Pony
Summary: When Twilight was coronated as the Princess of Friendship, Equestria seemed to be at the height of peace and harmony. But when fearful rumors and dark secrets begin to come to light, Equestria faces a challenge unlike any it has faced before. Collection of loosely-related short stories taking place in the "Ghost AU". Please read/review, as your feedback encourages me to kero going!


"Twilight, Twilight! Look what we found!"

The tired unicorn opened the door with a yawn, then looked down at the three fillies before her with a tired smile. "Hm? What is it?"

"We found this book!" Scootaloo said, taking it from Sweetie Belle and giving it to Twilight. "It looks important, but it's also damaged, and it looks like it's been in the water for a long time..."

Twilight took the book in a grasp of magical energy and examined the cover, then carefully opened it. "My, my... This is really quite interesting... The pages don't appear to be water damaged at all..." Twilight looked back at the three fillies with a smile as she closed the book, hovering it beside her. "Thank you for bringing this to me. Where did you say you found it?"

"We found it next to the river between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. It was really wet when we found it, but it dried off on the way here."

Twilight stared at the fillies with a confused look for a moment, then shook her head. "That's interesting... Thank you, you three. I'll definitely look into this."

The three fillies nodded, then ran off yelling "Cutie Mark Crusaders Salvage Hunters" as Twilight shut the door and took a second look at the book, placing it on her desk. She was intrigued that, despite clearly having been subject to various forms of wear and abuse, the book's pages remained not only intact, but in near-perfect condition. What intrigued her more was the fact that, despite being soaked, the writing showed no evidence of being washed out or of smudging even slightly. It looked like it had been freshly written.

"Curious..." Twilight said as she quickly flipped through the book's pages, then turned back to the first page. But before she could begin to read, she was interrupted by her assistant.

"Morning, Twilight," Spike said with a yawn, rubbing his eyes as he walked down the stairs, "What was all that yelling about?"

"Good morning, Spike. The fillies found this book, and brought it to me. Say... Spike, what do you think of this? They said they found it beside the Everfree River, but the pages don't appear to be damaged, and the writing still-"

"What writing?" Spike asked as he looked over the book, "I don't see any writing. Weird that those pages look so clean, though."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked back at the page. "What do you mean you can't see any writing? The whole page is covered in it. Can you really not see it?"

"Nope, looks just like a blank page to me. Maybe it's some kind of special magic ink that only alicorn princesses can read."

"Hm... Maybe you're onto something there. But I doubt this was written by a princess. I know the writing style of every princess in Equestria, but I don't recognize this handwriting."

"Hm... It looks kinda familiar to me. I can't remember where I saw it though. But I'll let you think about that. Meanwhile, I'm going to go make breakfast."

"Thanks Spike," Twilight said as she watched her assistant walk into the kitchen, then looked back at the page, rubbing her chin. She began to read again, but was again interrupted, this time by a knock at the door. Twilight turned to answer it just as it was opened, and Applejack and Rarity stepped inside.

"Mornin', Twi. Have you happened to see Applebloom anywhere? She was supposed to help Big Mac and I with the apple bucking, but she ain't at home."

"And Sweetie Belle was supposed to help me find some emeralds for my latest dress line," Rarity said, "But she's run off as well."

"Yes, they're with Scootaloo at the Everfree River," Twilight said, levitating the opened book beside her, "At least, they were not long ago. They found this there, and brought it to show me. It's interesting how little damage it has taken, considering the abuse it must have been dealt."

"What is that? An empty journal?" Applejack asked, giving it an odd look.

"Applejack, darling, is something wrong with your eyes? That journal isn't empty, that page is completely full!"

"No it ain't, Rarity, I don't see a single drop of ink on that page.

"Spike can't see it either... I think it's only visible to unicorns and alicorns. I'm not sure how that could be, though."

"You're right, that is mighty interestin'. But why would anypony write something that only unicorns could read?"

"I'm not sure. It doesn't make much sense..."

Twilight started staring at the book again, rubbing her chin and squinting her eyes. As Spike sometimes called it, she had drifted off into Twilight Land.

"Well, we'll let you get to it. We need to find Applebloom and Sweetie Belle before they cause too much trouble."

Twilight nodded, then Applejack and Rarity exchanged glances, shrugged, then left Twilight to think. When Spike gave the studious unicorn her breakfast, she had returned the book to her desk and had finally started reading

* * *

"Hey, Applejack, have you seen Twilight today?" Pinkie asked as Applejack walked in, pulling a cart of apples, "She said she was gonna help me bake cupcakes today, but she hasn't shown up yet."

"Last time I saw her, she was reading some book only unicorns can read. She's probably still reading it."

"Why can only unicorns read it? Is it some kind of super secret magic spell or something?"

"No idea. I didn't see anything but a blank page when she showed it to me, but she and Rarity both said they could read it fine."

"Hm... I must see this book! And I will!"

With a pink blur, Applejack found herself alone and spinning on the ground. "Typical Pinkie," she said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"Watcha readin'?"

Twilight jumped backward, kicking and screaming, and stared at the pink pony who just suddenly jumped between her and her desk with wide eyes and a racing heart. She gave a relieved sigh and closed her eyes, catching her breath, when she realized what happened.

"Sorry," Pinkie said, helping Twilight back to her hooves, "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"It's alright," Twilight said as she stood back up and walked back to her desk, "This is somepony's old journal. I'm not quite sure whose it is, though."

"Are you crying?"

Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, then glanced at Pinkie with lowered ears before looking back at the journal. "Whoever kept this journal... S-she... She had to watch her best friend... D-die. I-I... I can't even imagine how painful that must be..."

Pinkie frowned, then pulled Twilight into a sympathetic hug. "That's terrible..."

Twilight nodded slightly, then hugged Pinkie noticeably more tightly than she had been. "I can't lose you. Any of you. I-I-"

"Shhh," Pinkie said softly, patting Twilight's back gently, "Don't worry, you aren't going to be losing us. We won't let that happen."

Twilight smiled softly, then pulled herself away from the hug after a few moments. "Thank you, Pinkie."

Pinkie nodded with a small smile, then walked toward the door. "I guess we'll be making cupcakes tomorrow then, huh?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I completely forgot! I got so caught up in reading this, that... I guess I've been reading it all day... Oops."

Pinkie giggled, then shrugged. "That's alright. Tomorrow it is then. Goodnight, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Pinkie. Thanks again."

"Anytime." Pinkie said with a smile as she walked outside, closing the door behind her gently.

Twilight sat in the same spot for several minutes, staring first at the door, then at the book, then at her hooves, as tears began to fall from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Trixie..."

* * *

Author's Note:

Surprise! I'm not quite dead yet! Sorry I've been away for so long, I've had a lot of personal issues to take care of.

In case anyone is curious, I haven't given up on The Dark Expanse. I am currently in the process of rebooting it. This story takes place prior to The Dark Expanse, and serves to develop the story's context a bit.

If you liked it, please make sure to read/review! Your feedback encourages me to keep writing!

Disclaimer: My Little Pony and all associated characters are the intellectual property of Hasbro and its affiliates. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and is not created commercially or with intent of making money.

This story is not to be reproduced without prior consent. Sharing the link, however, is fine. :)


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